Leon Gellert
Leon Maxwell Gellert (17 May 1892 – 22 August 1977) was an Australian poet. Life Gellert was born in Walkerville, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. He was subjected to bullying by his father, a Methodist of Hungarian extraction, to which he reacted by learning self-defence at the YMCA. After an education at Adelaide High School, he embarked on a teaching career; first as a student-teacher at Unley Public School then at the University of Adelaide's Teacher Training College. He enlisted with the Australian Imperial Forces]] 10th Battalion within weeks of the outbreak of the Great War and sailed for Cairo on 22 October 1914. He landed at Ari Burnu Beach, Gallipoli on 25 April 1915http://oldpoetry.com/oauthor/show/Leon_Gellert, was wounded and repatriated as medically unfit in June 1916. He attempted to re-enlist but was soon found out. He returned to teaching at Norwood Public School. During periods of inactivity he had been indulging his appetite for writing poetry. Songs of a Campaign (1917) was his first published book of verse, and was favourably reviewed by The Bulletin. Angus & Robertson soon published a new edition, illustrated by Norman Lindsay. His second, The Isle of San (1919), also illustrated by Lindsay, was not so well received however. He took to journalism, moving to Sydney where he taught English at Cleveland Street Intermediate High School until 1922 when he joined the staff at Smith's Weekly. There he was introduced to the circle that included Sydney Ure Smith and Bertram Stevens. He was appointed editor of Ure Smith's Home magazine and co-editor of the quarterly Art in Australia which he took over on Stevens' death in 1922. John Fairfax took over Ure Smith Publications in 1934, Ure Smith and Gellert retaining their positions until 1938 when Ure Smith retired. Gellert continued editing Home until 1942 when it ceased publication. He then became litery editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, writing a column 'Something Personal' in the Saturday issues as well as humorous columns for the Sunday Herald and the Sunday Telegraph. He returned to Adelaide after the death of his wife Kathleen in 1969, living in the suburb of Hazelwood Park and died eight years later. Their only child, a daughter, died in childbirth in the 1940's. Recognition Gellert was the subject of a dry-point portrait by Norman Lindsay and a 1923 oil painting by Norman Carter. His biography A Torrent of Words: Leon Gellert: A writer's life (Canberra: Brindabella Press, 1996) was written by Gavin Souter. Christchurch-based composer, Richard Oswin made use of Gellert's poem, "The Last to Leave," in his choral work commissioned by the New Zealand Secondary Students' Choir, Three Gallipoli Settings. The poem provided the text for the second of the three settings. Publications Poetry *''Songs of a Campaign'' (illustrated by Norman Lindsay). Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1917. *''The Isle of San: A phantasy'' (illustrated by Norman Lindsay). Sydney: Art in Australia, 1919. *''Desperate Measures. Sydney: Art in Australia, 1928. *''Those Beastly Australians: Some faunagraphic data compiled for students of Australian wild life (illustrated by Bernard Hesling). Sydney: Australasian Publishing, 1944; London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1964. Non-fiction *''Week After Week''. Sydney: John Fairfax, 1953, *''Year After Year''. Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1956. Except wher noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Leon Gellert, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Aug. 23, 2014. See also * List of Australian poets References External links ;Poems *Leon Gellert at Discover War Poets (3 poems) *Leon Gellert at PoemHunter (82 poems) * Leon Gellert at AllPoetry (84 poems). ;Audio / video *Leon Gellert at YouTube ;About *Leon Gellert in the Oxford Companion to Australian Literature] *Gellert, Leon Maxwell (1892–1977) in the Australian Dictionary of Biography Category:1892 births Category:1977 deaths Category:Australian poets Category:Australian journalists Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:War poets